Ryan Hintze

Healthy Tips For Lean Bulking

The vast majority of us are now in the icy grip of winter (unless you live in Florida like me), which means that you generally wear more articles of clothing than you wear during the summer. For many, this is an excuse to bulk up, which is why the colder months of the year are commonly referred to as ‘bulking season’. If you’re looking to bulk up, whether it be for bodybuilding purposes, or general health and fitness purposes, you must ensure that you do it safely, and healthily, all in a controlled manner. The problem when bulking, is that many people do what is known as ‘dirty bulking’ in which they literally eat as much high-calorie junk food as possible. Needless to say, this is unhealthy, dangerous, and it will result in far too much body fat being stored. If you’re looking to gain weight healthily, here are some healthy tips for lean bulking.

Eat regularly

If you’re trying to bulk up, you can’t do what many people tend to do, which is to eat very little during the day, and then stuff themselves in the evening, by binge-eating on junk food. If you wish to bulk up healthily, you will need to ensure that you’re eating regularly. This is because your metabolism will begin to slow down if you leave it too long between meals, so not only will you have less energy, you will also find it much harder to build lean muscle, as your body will instead simply store any extra calories it can find, as fat. Aim to eat every three hours, placing an emphasis on small, healthy, nutritionally balanced meals.

Get plenty of healthy fats

People often fear fats, even those who are bulking, as there is a common misconception that all fats result in fat gain. Well, in reality, some healthy fats are actually essential for our bodies to function correctly, as they improve organ function, they boost the brain, they energize us, and they even boost the metabolism, so we can burn fat by eating fat. Forget trans fats and non-natural saturated fats as these are incredibly unhealthy. Instead, place an emphasis on monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and some saturated fats, such as those found in coconut oil. Common examples of healthy fat sources include: Oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, whole organic eggs, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, flax seed oil, and even some red meat.

Supplement with weight gainers

Though supplements are no substitutions for whole foods, if you are struggling to meet your daily macro requirements for gaining weight in a controlled manner, why not consider picking up a good quality weight gainer? Weight gainers are enriched with protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, all of which are essential for optimal health and metabolic function. One weight gainer shaker per day can provide you with anything from 500 calories – 1000+ calories, and if you want to up the calories and protein content even more, why not mix it with milk?

Eat healthy and balanced meals, with the occasional treat

Rather than eating copious amounts of artery-clogging junk food each day, try to ensure that each meal that you consume, is healthy and balanced, and is enriched with nutrients, which should come from fresh vegetables, and some fruits. You can treat yourself once per week, and eat a cheat meal if you would like, but make sure that, for 90% of the time, you eat healthy and wholesome foods.

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